It's time for another installment of Pete's Pathetic Chess, where I subject my awful moves and chess ideas to a brilliant grandmaster and the best chess-playing computer in the world. Joining my foolishness with his own (lucid) annotations...
Francis Eugene Brenzinger has been mostly forgotten. It's true that he wasn't even close to being a world champion contender, maybe not even a likely U.S. champion, but during his chess-playing days, he was...
Having trouble perfecting your study habits? Without a coach, training to perfect your chess game can feel like shooting in the dark. After all, how do you know your identifying every important concept in a position? Your daily tactics are ...
A famous saying goes "chess is 99 percent tactics." Here are three tips for studying tactics: Practice calculation and solve puzzles at least three times per week. Your ability to spot tactics successfully during a game will depend upon patter...
By GM Robert Hess and IM Teddy Coleman It’s not the size of the dog in the fight; it’s the size of the fight in the dog. GM Peter Svidler enters the Candidates' Tournament as the lowest-rated player, but don’t expect him to r...
King and pawn endings are essential to every chess player's understanding of the game. Here are three practical tips when there are just kings and pawns left on the board: Try to create passed pawns. Without queening a pawn, you wo...
Last week's article caused a significant response and dispute. It looks like our readers were split into two camps based on their viewpoints of the importance of classical games. Our member kingcobra07 summarized the standpoi...
Chess.com member Squid22 wrote: “I played 5.Nb5 to be obnoxious. It wouldn’t be hard to make this knight move harmless (5...d6, and then I’ve just wasted a move). However, my opponent played 5...a6. That moves looks natura...
Edward Lasker published his delightful book "Chess of Fun & Chess for Blood" in 1942. In this book he examined Chess from the different perspectives of various amateurs in juxtaposition to that of serious tourn...
Whether you are a Luddite or technophile, the importance of being able to successfully collaborate with a chess computer cannot be overstated. In every stage and aspect of the game — opening preparation, endgame theory, game analysis&...
You definitely like chess. But are you an expert? No, I am not talking about the USCF title you get when your USCF rating is above 2000 but less than 2200 (which is the master title). You can be a USCF expert but not a true expert of chess and v...
I get a lot of letters from Chess.com members, and though their ratings run the gamut, I do my best to address all ratings as best I can. Today I’ll turn my attention to two players below 1500 : Mr. Prashant1994 and Mr. Rrrtttyyyuuuiii. I&...
A Little Background: A man named Wolfgang von Kempelen created a supposed chess-playing machine in 1770. A chess master cleverly concealed inside controlled the exposed turbaned, mustached figure and the moves...
The January 1962 issue of "Chess Review" featured an article written by John Frederick Harbeson. The article was a reprint of one that had appeared in "The Germantowne Crier." The author was a prominent Philade...
Below are the official rules and format of Chess.com's Grandmaster Blitz Battle Championship. For the full list of players in the 2016 GM Battle Championship, click here. By accepting the invitation to play, players acknowledge they have read an...
The following is a reprint of a charming article composed by Al Horowitz in "Chess Review," Nov. 1953. Of course, this version has been updated to Algebraic Notation with the digital supplanting the physical. Al Horow...
Last week we analyzed a line that could be a decent opening weapon for club players. As you remember, unlike the openings played by super-grandmasters, it didn't require any special opening knowledge and could be learned in one minute. The obvio...
Openings That Lead to a Draw Question: Chess.com member jos2001 wrote, “I’m a 1076-ranked player who wants to know the best openings to draw.” Answer: Though various openings are known to be drawish at the master level (and u...
The Cunningham Defense in the King's Gambit Accepted begins 1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. Nf3 Be7. White moves the Bishop to give his King a place to go with 4. Bc4. If Black continues with the threatened 4... Bh4+ ...
Every chess game begins with an opening, which means that when reviewing your own games, it's important to analyze what happened in the first few moves. Here are three ways to improve your openings: Evaluate the outcome of the opening. Did you...
Don’t call it a comeback; I’ve been here for years. In October I played in Millionaire Chess, my first international tournament in nearly two years. It wasn’t a triumphant return lik...
There are certain opening variations in chess which can be labeled "for top players only." The most obvious example would be the Berlin Variation of the Ruy Lopez. But club players shouldn't be jealous since there are also opening variations "fo...
Some of my recent articles were about chess psychology and striving to have a balanced skillset. This article (all in puzzle form) lets you test what you’ve learned (or what you thought you already knew). The puzzles can be tactical, po...
If you peruse old issues of "Chess Review," you will probably encounter the name Catherine Nye. You will mostly likely notice one of these photos of the pretty 34 year old lady from Syracuse, N.Y. 1941 ...
